St. Paul reaches $250K settlement in brutality case

The city of St. Paul has reached a $250,000 settlement with a man who accused police of excessive force.

The deal was reached last week, said attorney Paul Applebaum, who represented plaintiff Anthony Clark Jr. A trial had been scheduled to start Monday.

"He's pleased with the settlement and wants to move on with his life," said Applebaum, who represented Clark with co-counsel Andrew Irlbeck.

A confidentiality agreement prevented Applebaum from saying more.

According to the suit filed in federal court in 2010: Clark saw his fiancée being confronted by officers at the Station 4 bar downtown. He put his hand on her elbow to leave, and an officer pushed him. Another officer deployed a Taser at him but missed. Clark ran and hid in an alley.

Clark later revealed himself to police, and he was hit in the head with a flashlight and was beaten by a few officers with flashlights, the suit said. He also was sprayed with a chemical irritant.

The suit said that Clark needed more than 20 staples in his head and that skin peeled on his face.

A police report and charges filed against Clark after the incident said police were intervening in a squabble involving Clark's fiancée, another woman and a bartender. Clark pushed an officer and later lunged at them, documents said.

Clark was convicted of fleeing an officer and acquitted of obstructing legal process in the incident.

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